The Easiest Prime Rib Roast

First to those who don’t do meat, this is a lot of meat. You should probably just skip over this post and move on back to my Holiday Gift Guide. Do a little internet purusing to get your mind off these ->INSERT SCARED FACE EMJOI<-

On the other hand if you are a meat lover then most likely you’re also a prime rib roast lover and thus are in Heaven with that big hunk of very expensive meat. So I apologize for not having leftovers for you to try. My kids devoured more than I ever imagined and this little piece inside of me was like, don’t you guys like any thing less expensive?

And third, I apologize for those who are so confused about this red meat debate. Is is good or is it not? I mean the headlines basically make you think that just looking at these pictures you are dying a little bit inside. I’m not convinced.

I think there is more to the red meat debate than given, considering everything in nutrition could be controversial, even whether iceberg lettuce has nutritional value or not. It’s a never-ending debate with new controversy every.single.day.

The key things I want to mention before we get into this juicy, flavorful, prime rib roast that would be perfect for your Christmas dinner is this.

What you need to know about Red Meat:

It’s true that not everyone should be eating red meat or at least not eating it in the amounts we are. While some of us can handle it others simply can not. But how do you know? It means listening to you body. I know that is a hard concept to understand, that our body actually knows best outside of all of the rules, regulations and stipulations we put on it, but it does. Listen and feel the reaction. Do you get heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, bloating, joint pain after eating it? Maybe you should skip it.

But on the other hand some of us need meat and red meat specifically for the iron content, protein configuration and nutrient profile.

So I urge you to first listen to your body and understand if meat is a good fit for you and second and just as importantly understand that QUALITY makes all the difference. Maybe more than just judging the book by the cover and putting every cut of red meat into the mix we should differentiate between the health of the animal and the nutritional quality of the meat.

Just like humans what we put into our body and how we treat it, makes a difference in the overall health of our body, including the muscle and more specifically the fat. It isn’t any different in animals. The quality of their food, their environment, their lifestyle makes a difference in the nutrient quality of what we gain from the food they provide.

So just to be clear as ice… grass-fed really is best and in most cases really great for our body.

Now that we cleared the air, kind of, sort of, I think, lets get back to this, the easiest prime rib roast ever.

I think outside of carrying quite a hefty price-tag (hence why you will only see us eating this one time of the year, most of the times in which I didn’t have to purchase it) it really is such an easy meal to prepare. One pan, a few herbs and time is all you need.

With any good cooked meat there are always a few pointers to remember:

Make sure the meat has reached room temperature before cooking. This is how you get evenly cooked, perfectly juicy meat. This may mean leaving your meat sit out for an hour or two before cooking. Don’t have conniption fit though, you’re not going to get food poisoning for this. Nope that happens via cross contamination with other things, not just letting it sit out to warm up. And trust me, I’m a germophobe as well, hence my dry cracked knuckles from simply unwrapping, seasoning and cooking meat. The need to wash my hands 100 times in that process is real.

Don’t be scared to season it, even if that just means salt and pepper. That boost of flavor and the salt will help keep the moisture in and pull the flavors out. It’s real science. On top of that you could use additional dried or fresh herbs to add a little boost of somethin’-somethin’ to the mix. This recipe uses a fresh herb poultry mix which is even delicious outside of poultry (who woulda thought?)

Sear the outside of every surface in a hot skillet before roasting in the oven. OR if you want the lazy man approach place it in a really hot oven for a short period of time before turning down to the sustained roasting temperature. This recipe will have you cook it hot for 15 minutes and turn the oven down to get the nice sear on the outside keeping the juices on the inside.

Use a thermometer. The guessing game just isn’t good enough. Because you toasted it in a hot oven or seared it in a pan that nice, perfectly browned outside look will not change much for the duration of baking. Just looking at it won’t tell you a thing until it turns black so make sure you use a thermometer to test the internal temperature.

Let it rest. I know this is the last thing you want to do before pulling that big juicy piece of Heaven out of the oven but letting it sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting will not only help it finish cooking to perfection but it will also prevent you from losing all of the moisture to the cutting board. The meat needs time to rest after sitting in the sauna for so long. So to keep it juicy, let it be.

Finally, time to enjoy.

Outside of patience and time you don’t have too do much. Just follow these pointers and you will be on your way to success.

While an oven fire and throwing fire extinguishers would make for a Holiday to remember, it isn’t an ideal situation. And after watching my mom (love you) nearly start a fire in her oven two Christmas’s in a row she found the solution. Rock salt (aka ice cream salt) at the bottom of the roasting pan which will prevent any flare ups at all. It really is a remarkable thing (and no it doesn’t make your meat too salty) especially when you don’t have to worry about your guests getting smoke inhalation, the firemen coming and forever ruining that piece of meat.

Thanks mom for that tip, everyone thanks you for recounting those experiences with us. And in all fairness, full credits to the recipe go out to her… and my dad or whichever one thought of these genius meat saving hacks. Wahoo and have yourself a very delicious Christmas.

Oh wait, we still have a few weeks and I have a lot more goodies coming at you this month before my site takes a 180, literally. Stay tuned.

P.S. Because there is never a dull moment in our house, we also know that after cleaning up we caution you to throwing the juice covered rock salt in the garbage if you have a dog. As we know from experience when dog gets a whiff of prime rib roast they inhale immediately and soon after realize that ingesting rock salt is a horrible idea. Thousands of dollars later and a very sick dog who made a recovery (although we are not sure he really ever fully recovered) make sure you use caution where you throw away the delicious smelling yet horribly corrosive to a digestive tract, rock salt.

only one day

to reset your hormones

About Alexa

Alexa is a Nutritionist currently pursuing her Masters degree in Public Health. She specializes in helping her clients to see the whole picture of health and wellness and enjoys developing healthy grain free recipes and writing about various health topics. She lives in a cornfield in Iowa with her husband Payton and their three daughters, Ava, Addie and Auden.